Is there any way for sports aviation (pylon races, air derbies, cross country races, seaplane races, etc) to survive after WW2? I assume most of the big name races like the Schneider Trophy and Thompson Trophy were killed off by the economic blow of the Great Depression, but isn't there some way for the great air races to be revived during the prosperous years of the late forties and early fifties?
PC: Sports aviation revival after the Second World War
- Thread starter Color-Copycat
- Start date
Air races did not completly dies after World War Two. I been to the Reno Air Races.
But to keep them popular in post war America, we need some help.
How about if the Air Force does not keep Chuck Yeager Breaking the Sound Barrier a secret. What if instead, they send him on a Public relation trip and he fly in what ever air races, there are? The Public comes out to see the Fastest Man in the World, and get hook on Sport Aviation again.
Riain
Banned
I don't think unlimited air racing is possible with the introduction of rocket and jet propulsion. I wouldn't think many private organisations would have the ability to build supersonic low level jet racers. Any races would be far below the state of the art which is very different to the Schnieder Trophy which were the state of the art.
The Schneider trophy was won. The Bendix and Thompson ran in the late '40s. Private individuals seemed unlikely to compete against a B-58 Hustler. Rather than Chuck, the Reno air races had Hoover watching over the flock. He didn't own a lion, but he had that neat hat. Modified military aircraft dominated, while Tsunami and Pond Racer came to bad ends. Conquest II and Rare Bear eventually beat that pesky Me-209 speed record. Paul Mantz built a Mustang that flew the Atlantic at 440 mph average. Did you miss something?
As it happens, I read up about this as a kid as part of a report on the Spitfire; there was a rule that if any nation won the Schneider Trophy three times in a row, it was theirs to keep.
IMO the way to do it is to cast aside traditional racing which focusses on speed and manoeuvrability of single-seat aircraft, and go for a more market-friendly approach, ie, endurance-racing loaded (with sandbags) 8/12/20/etc. passenger aircraft between certain airports (say London > Paris > Zurich > Florence, or something similar).
What I was saying is that it didn't die. But times change. Before the war, Tony Levier competed in the privately owned and purpose-built Schoenfeld Firecracker racer, but after the war, he flew a Lightning. The limits of piston-engined aircraft seem to have been largely reached, but class racing persists, if you look for it. Ultimate jet racing isn't likely to gain popularity because of the price of admission. Beside racing, flying, and building for sport is still hugely popular, as you could find out on a weekend at Oshkosh, by gosh. The SR-71 made the trans-Atlantic record tough to beat, but the record for the Podunk-to-Springville run by Aeronca Champ is still up for grabs, if the wind is right. Aerobatics is a field of aircraft sport that has made remarkable gains in recent years, particularly in the vertical. If that isn't enough, there's the poker runs, or just plain fly-ins.
Riain
Banned
RAAF Canberras did something like that back in the 50s, I can't remember exactly. Of course this sort of thing could be ruined by the Military by using air to air tankers unless they were banned, and even if they were my guess is that some military would do it as a stunt which would invalidate the race itself.
Edit: It was the 1953 London to Christchurch NZ air race, the RAAF No. 1 Long Range Flight was 3 Canberras and one of them came second by 41 minutes to a RAF Canberra.
Riain
Banned
Who do you envisage would put up the money for such flights, the builders? I do recall an article ages ago about a new airliner flying Hong Kong to the US the wrong way on a single tank of fuel as a bit of a stunt, so it might happen.
But what happens when such races become commonplace? Won't enthusiam decline and participation drop off?
But what happens when such races become commonplace? Won't enthusiam decline and participation drop off?
Somebodys trying to start a rocketplane racing circuit, using similar machines to what theyre try to use to get to space, height that is, not orbit.
As for the sr71, it had to be refuelled. Have the rules say no refuelling, and things would be a lot more competitive.
Then try new york to singapore unrefuelled....